For the purposes of the present application the term "bunk" means a resting surface that is not a proper bed, but which is suitable for temporary placement of a patient for transport or treatment purposes.
In the medical care of non-ambulatory patients, the process of moving a patient from a bed and to another means for transport, basically involves the use of two different methods: moving by lifting, or moving by dragging the patient off the bed.
For lifting purposes it is required to install electrical lifting means, commonly mounted in the ceiling, or a portable lifting carriage, and a lifting or hoisting sling. This method would often require two medical staff, and it can be very trying for both the staff and for the patient, especially if the patient only may be moved in a horizontal position, such as when there is a spinal injury or other internal damage requiring careful handling of the patient.
When the patient is to be dragged off the bed and onto a temporary bunk or roll coach, the patient must be moved from the center of the bed to the edge of the bed before the transfer to the bunk may be made. Often there is present a small gap or space between the mattress of the bed and the roll coach. This gap may cause problems in the transfer from bed to bunk.
Frequently it is required to move the patient from the bed to a wheel-chair. This requires that the patient be moved to the side of the bed, the legs must be brought over the edge, and the patient must be raised to a sitting position. Thereafter a sideways movement must take place, possibly by use of a special gliding plate, temporarily provided between the bed and the wheel-chair.
In order to facilitate the sideways movement to the edge of the bed, there has recently been introduced glide mats, which consist of a sheet of fabric having two opposite edges attached to each other so as to form a tube like configuration having a low friction interior surface. The tubelike glide mat is placed slightly underneath the patient in a flat configuration, and when the patient is dragged carefully to the side, the upper side of the glide mat will form a sheet gliding on the lower portion, by virtue of its low friction interior surface.
When the patient is to be replaced in the bed from the bunk after having been treated, it may be very difficult and sometimes impossible to push the patient back onto the bed. The gap mentioned above may cause problems and discomfort also in this case. Finally, the patient will end up on the edge of the bed after having been transferred from the bunk, and must be pushed further towards the middle of the bed, in order to take a comfortable position in the bed. Of course the use of a glide mat will facilitate also the placing of the patient onto the bed.
A requirement in the care of non-ambulatory patients is that they must be allowed to stand up at least once a day during 15-20 minutes. Unless this therapy is carried out, the patient will suffer complications in terms of i.a. decalcification of the skeleton, heart insufficiency, muscle atrophy, problems with the peristalsis, and balance problems.
Normally the procedure used today for the kind of therapy outlined above is to move the patient from the bed to a wheelchair in order to transport the patient to the location in the hospital where therapy equipment is available.
The patient is then transferred from the wheel-chair onto a special tiltable bunk or coach, where the patient may be raised to an upright position, while still resting against the bunk.
After the therapy the patient must again be transferred to the wheel-chair, transported back to the ward, where he/she finally is transferred onto the bed. Thus, this simple therapy requires a substantial amount of work and inconvenience for the staff and patient.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,752 there is disclosed an apparatus for lifting, arranging and/or transporting non-ambulatory patients. It includes a mobile support and an elongated element mounted thereon, to serve as a temporary bunk for a patient to be moved. The operation of the apparatus according to this patent is very similar to a fork-lift device. It provides three different movements, raising, lowering and tilting. By tilting the frame on which the bunk is mounted, the bunk is positioned alongside of a patient, who is then placed on the bunk.
In practical use of this kind of equipment a problem is that the bunk will not be inserted underneath the patient, instead the bunk pushes the patient sideways. Also, a dragging action is required in order to bring the patient onto the bunk.
In DE-36 19 837 there is disclosed a lifting device for non-ambulatory patients. It comprises a carrying frame with a conveyor belt system that is intended to engage on the patient's body, and to pull it onto the carrying frame. The frame is tiltable and may be raised or lowered. The device according to this disclosure is extremely complex, and therefore expensive to manufacture.